THAN ONCE EVERY TWELVE (12) MONTHS. The Plan must provide this statement free of charge. In addition to creating rights for Plan participants, ERISA imposes duties upon the people who are responsible for the operation of the Plan. The people who operate your Plan, called “fiduciaries” of the Plan, have a duty to do so prudently and in the interest of you and other Plan participants and beneficiaries. No one, including your Employer or any other person, may fire you or otherwise discriminate against you in any way to prevent you from obtaining a pension benefit or exercising your rights under ERISA. If your claim for a pension benefit is denied or ignored in whole or in part, you have a right to know why this was done, to obtain copies of documents relating to the decision without charge, and to appeal any denial, all within certain time schedules. Under ERISA, there are steps you can take to enforce the above rights. For instance, if you request a copy of Plan documents or the latest annual report from the Plan and do not receive them within 30 days, you may file suit in a Federal court. In such a case, the court may require the Administrator to provide the materials and pay you up to $110 a day until you receive the materials, unless the materials were not sent because of reasons beyond the control of the Administrator. If you have a claim for benefits which is denied or ignored, in whole or in part, you may file suit in a state or Federal court. In addition, if you disagree with the Plan’s decision or lack thereof concerning the qualified status of a domestic relations order or a medical child support order, you may file suit in Federal court. You and your beneficiaries can obtain, without charge, a copy of the qualified domestic relations order procedures from the Administrator. If it should happen that the Plan’s fiduciaries misuse the Plan’s money, or if you are discriminated against for asserting your rights, you may seek assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor, or you may file suit in a Federal court. The court will decide who should pay court costs and legal fees. If you are successful, the court may order the person you have sued to pay these costs and fees. If you lose, the court may order you to pay these costs and fees if, for example, it finds your claim is frivolous. What can I do if I have questions or my rights are violated? If you have any questions about the Plan, you should contact the Administrator. If you have any questions about this statement or about your rights under ERISA, or if you need assistance in obtaining documents from the Administrator, you should contact the nearest office of the Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, listed in the telephone directory or the Division of Technical Assistance and Inquiries, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20210. You may also obtain certain publications about your rights and responsibilities under ERISA by calling the publications hotline of the Employee Benefits Security Administration. ARTICLE XII PLAN EXPENSES The Plan permits the payment of Plan expenses to be made from the Plan assets. If we do not pay these expenses from our own assets, then the expenses paid using the Plan’s assets will generally be allocated among the accounts of all participants in the Plan. These expenses will be allocated either proportionately based on the value of the account balances or as an equal dollar amount based on the number of participants in the Plan. The method of allocating the expenses depends on the nature of the expense itself. For example, certain administrative (or recordkeeping) expenses would typically be allocated proportionately to each participant. If the Plan pays $1,000 in expenses and there are 100 participants, your account balance would be charged $10 ($1,000/100) of the expense.
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